Rethinking Idiomaticity: A Usage-based Approach

`The study's approach to idiomaticity, as well as the results it generates, is truly innovative... The book is a truly original contribution to the field and one that will make a considerable impact on the area of idioms research.' International Journal of Corpus Linguistics

Being presented with phrases of the kind take the plunge and write a letter, native speakers of English tend to agree that the former is more idiomatic than the latter. What exactly is it about these two phrases that guides speakers' judgements?

Adopting a usage-based perspective, the present study addresses the question `which factors do speakers rely upon when assessing the idiomaticity of a construction?' It is the first study to bring together a quantitative corpus-linguistic approach and judgement data to explore the nature of idiomaticity as a complex concept that comprises semantic and formal variation parameters.

Wulff's book is suitable for researchers and postgraduates in the fields of lexicography, phraseology, corpus linguistics and those who are employing quantitative approaches. Cognitive linguists interested in the empirical underpinnings of their theoretical assumptions will find this required reading.

Stefanie Wulff is Assistant Professor at the University of North Texas, USA.